New Cavs starting lineup leaves hole on bench

INDEPENDENCE -- Less than a week after Cavaliers coach Byron Scott addressed his starting lineup, another serious problem cropped up.

Suddenly, their bench has fallen off the map.

The Cavs' starters have remained competitive. But there was a noticeable drop off in productivity on Sunday when Scott went to the bench. That competitive nature wasn't there, which contributed to the Cavs' 106-77 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Cavs (7-17) are riding an eight-game losing streak, their longest since 2003. They'll try to snap a nine-game road losing streak in Miami on Wednesday.

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Scott inserted power forward Antawn Jamison and shooting guard Daniel Gibson into the starting lineup on Dec. 8. In the next three games, all losses, the Cavs have had one player reach double figures in scoring off the bench (Jawad Williams' 13 points vs. Houston on Saturday).

Before Scott's big move with the starting lineup, the Cavs led the league in bench scoring.

"Our first unit is doing a pretty good job," Scott said. "I just have to find a combination for that second unit so they can come in and play the right way. We just have to find a combination where they come in and keep the same energy, as well as the same pace."

The second unit, as of Sunday, consisted of center Ryan Hollins, power forward J.J. Hickson, small forward Williams and shooting guard Manny Harris. That's subject to change.

"I'm not going to tinker with the starting unit," Scott said. "Like I said, I'm going to tinker with the bench. I need to see if I can find a combination that can work with the starters that can keep us out of this hole we keep getting ourselves in. I'm going to look at that first before I look at tinkering with the starting unit."

The Cavs narrowed their 22-point deficit to 11 at the end of the second quarter. Blame shouldn't be solely on the bench players. The starters failed to score in the first four minutes of the third quarter, which again dug the Cavs a big hole.

Scott went to the bench late in the third. The Thunder ended the quarter on a 19-1 run, which ended their upset bid.

"I'm just trying to figure out things, and tinkering with things in the second unit," Scott said. "That's basically why I was in the locker room for a while (after the game). I spoke to the team earlier about the third quarter, and I told them the starters did a really good job. Again, like I said, as soon as the five were off the floor, we were winning the quarter. But then, boom, it was a 19-1 run."

Scott came to the conclusion that he must keep one or two starters on the floor at all times to keep things from getting away from them.

Scott said the Cavs players are down, and rightfully so. He said he has to get them playing hard for 48 minutes.

"We're playing in spurts," he said.

Cavs center Anderson Varejao isn't one who is dogging it. He had a season-high 16 rebounds on Sunday, including nine offensive boards.

"It's just going to take some time," he said. "It's not like we can just put a team together and win right away. We have to get better, play better defense and take care of the ball."

There was some concern about Jamison playing too many minutes, but he hasn't topped the 34 minutes he played against Chicago.

"After the first week of the season, the knee has been fine," he said. "For me what I do in the offseason prepares me for what I do in the season, whether it's 30 or 35 minutes a game. I've been doing it for a while. I know how to take care of my body and get the much-needed rest that I need. I know how to pace myself. I'm not worried about my performance and whether I can log the minutes."